Last week, we had Holly Allen, Miss Wyoming - USA 2012. Indeed, many were inspired on her advices. This week, you'll get to know a lady who speaks of great knowledge. She is Nathalie Den Dekker. She has won the Miss Tourism International crown and just this year, she became part of the Top 15 in the 2012 Miss World. Get to know her better in this week's "Pageant Vixen Talks." Take note that this interview was done before she flew from Netherlands for Miss World 2012.

UBC: What's the life of Nathalie before winning Miss Tourism International?

Nathalie: I grew up on a mushroom farm in a small village in
the south of Netherlands called ‘Made’, only 40 minutes driving from
Antwerp, Belgium. I feel blessed with 2 loving parents, an elder sister,
a younger sister and a brother who is 10 years younger than me. My
grandma used to come in 2 days a week to take care of us. We are a close
family.

Besides working very hard on my study (I managed to graduate last
august for my Masters of Law at the University of Utrecht with GPA 4.0,
in two different directions being just 22 years old), I have worked for
5 rewarding years in homecare, taking care of Mrs. Sosef who couldn’t
walk anymore since her 18th because of a rare illness. She was captured
in a bed for 55 years!! Sadly she passed away last year.

UBC:How do people describe Nathalie?

Nathalie: They will probably describe me as a friendly, social, positive and
committed person with a lot of discipline. Someone who likes to be
prepared and dares to dream big. If I want something I am prepared to
work very hard to realize my goals.

UBC:What decided you to join pageants?

Nathalie:On one hand I can say that I was a real ‘girlie girl’ and like many
other young girls I always dreamed of being a princess, on the other
hand I see pageants as a great opportunity for young woman to travel the
world and to meet so many people from different countries. You can
learn about other countries and their cultures, but you certainly lean
about yourself as well and helps you to develop as a person. It can open
many doors, like you could have never imagined.

Any pageant truly is a great experience, a complete different world
compared to our daily life routines. You have the chance to be a
worldwide ambassador for your country, which I think is a great honour.

UBC:How do you prepare for pageants?

Nathalie: Currently I am in a full-time preparatory by the Miss Netherlands
organization and an international team. I have a personal trainer Niels
de Wildt, Farouk systems makes sure my hair looks great and Hannah is
taking care of my skin. Furthermore I got media training, performance
coaching, shoots and catwalk training. The designer for my final gown
will be announced soon. I am lucky with such a great team to support me,
but you need to be willing to work hard yourself as well and give your
best efforts. Being an ambassador for your country is a big
responsibility and it gives you the opportunity to really make a
difference in the world.

UBC:How do you balance time for family towards pageant life?

Nathalie: It’s truly a responsible and busy job to be Miss Netherlands, however
it is important to take good care of yourself and your loved ones. You
simply need to make time for friends and family. Be there for them like
they are there to support you. Luckily it’s easy to stay in touch
through all the modern media, but for me I need to be able to embrace
them in person! Therefore I make sure I go home to my family at least
every other week. Their love gives me strength and energy. I hope that
will make me shine during the finals of Miss World, since my family will
travel all the way to Inner Mongolia to be there with me at this
important moment in my life.

UBC:Winning Miss World Netherlands, how did it changed your life?

Nathalie: I am very honored to represent The Netherlands at Miss World 2012.
It’s a dream coming true. I have put everything in my life on hold so I
can fully focus on my preparations. This is a once in a lifetime
opportunity and I want to make the best out of it! Very few girls get
such a beautiful chance to travel the world and to make friends from so
many different countries. I will go for it 200%, give my best and hope
make the impossible possible…! I want to make my country and fans proud.

UBC:What goal/s are you reaching aside from winning the Miss World crown?

Nathalie: My future ambition is to work as a family lawyer and to gain enough
work experience to work at the infant welfare centre. I hope to be able
to combine my profession with a promotion at the University of Utrecht
which I need to become one of the few female professors at Dutch
Universities. There are lots of beautiful women but little on top
positions!

UBC:What makes you say that you are "Beauty With A Purpose?"

Nathalie: I have a my heart on the right place, as they would
say it in my country. As Miss World Netherlands I am involved in
goodwill and charity activities. For my own project, I am organizing a
run for the Free a Girl foundation. The foundation strives after a world
in which children are no longer the victims of human trafficking and
sexual abuse. Priority are projects aimed at preventing and combating
child prostitution. My heart goes out to children who cannot stand up
for themselves and as Miss World Netherlands I hope to be able to assist
the disadvantaged in our society.

Furthermore, I am very committed and ambitious and I transfer my
dreams into goals to make them come true. I always give my best efforts
and believe everyone should have enough courage to pursue their dreams.

UBC:As a beauty queen, what are your advocacy?

Nathalie: (1) For woman it is important to realize there is no glass ceiling.
There are no barriers limiting career opportunities for woman. With
preparation, a lot of ambition, hard work and learning from failure
every one can reach the top. This is what I have learnt from professor
Van Oostrom (University of Utrecht).

(2) We should be more respectful towards each other and put our best
efforts in understanding one another. I have personal experience in this
field; when I was young I was squinting (the consequence of an
accident). I needed to paste a plaster on one of my eyes every day for a
couple of hours. I got bullied a lot by the ‘older children’. On top of
that the teachers thought I wasn’t smart because I was looking silly. I
even got downgraded. To correct my eyes, I had to undergo 3 dangerous
surgeries of which 2 failed. The third one was successful. I hope I can
be a role model for everyone who experienced similar difficulties. Don’t
let anyone bring you down. Believe in yourself.

(3) It is too easy to say that the financial system must change. We
are indeed in a dip in Europe but there are many new opportunities in
the world. That goes for support with aid to other countries, and then I
am talking about real help not just give money; in my opinion it’s
better in to invest in knowledge in poorer countries so that they can be
self supporting.

One of the biggest challenges we are facing in the world is the food
supply. We are going to 9 billion people on the earth and the food
supply is getting under pressure. A world food shortage is a bigger
threat than lack of energy and water. What we should do is support local
agricultural organizations in developing countries with knowledge and
money to stimulate local production, not just subsidizing exports to
these countries.

The unrest in certain countries was not a desire for democracy or a
matter of faith, but the immediate cause was a massive rise in food
prices, partly caused by speculators, that caused immediate problems for
civilians. As an ambassador of Miss World, we can A) make future
problems more visible and B) use our influence to stimulate sustainable
local food production. Furthermore, we can use the giant knowledge in
our respective countries and combine our wisdom for greater effect.

UBC:How will you treasure this experience?

Nathalie: This experience is my treasure because it lies within me; it is a part of who I am today.

UBC:Will we see Nathalie in other pageants?

Nathalie: My dream is to become the next Miss World! I am fully focusing on that dream right now.

UBC:Beauty Tip to All.

Nathalie: Take good care of yourself; rest, exercise, eat healthy and drink a lot of water.

UBC:Message to your fans.

Nathalie: Thank you for your support! It means a lot to me and gives me
confidence, positivity and energy. I am going to do my best to make you
all proud! xoxo

Universal Beauty Council wishes Nathalie Den Dekker all the best! We want say thank you to Miss Kim Kotter, her national director for allowing us to be given this chance to have an interview with her, we also want to thank her for sending us pictures for this interview! Tune in to our "Pageant Vixen Talks" next week!

Wednesday, 24 October 2012

Originally crowned Nikolina Bojic was dethroned due to the aftermath reports that she is already married to a Canadian tennis player. And so her 1st Runner Up Aleksandra Doknic becomes the new Miss Serbia 2013 and will compete at Miss World 2013 at Bali, Indonesia. The new 1st Runner Up is Ana Vrcelj who will compete for Miss Universe 2013 at Panama.

Anchor of "E! News," Giuliana Rancic and the host of Bravo's "Watch What Happens Live", Andy Cohen are the hosts of the Miss Universe 2012 which will be held in Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino, Las Vegas this December 19.

Tuesday, 23 October 2012

Last week, we had Natalie Pietrzak, Miss Massachusetts. She shared a lot about her as a beauty queen. This week, we will be featuring another lovely girl who represent Wyoming in the 2012 edition of the Miss USA last June. She is Holly Allen! Get to know her in our "Pageant Vixen Talks" this week!

UBC:Who is Holly by describing herself in 3 words?

Holly: Ambitious, Passionate, Adventurous

UBC:Was it your dream to become a beauty queen?

Holly:No. I have always been pretty girly and I was a dancer growing up, so I am used to being on stage, but I also spent a lot of time as a kid playing in the dirt. I grew up on a ranch, so my sisters and I always worked alongside my dad just like we were boys. It was not until later in my life that I was drawn to the excitement and challenges of the pageant world.

UBC:Who inspired you to join Miss Wyoming USA 2012?

Holly: This one girl named Holly Allen. I actually inspired myself and have been very self-driven throughout the process. When I competed for my title, only a few people knew about that I was competing. It was something that I wanted to do for myself and I actually didn’t talk about it very much.

UBC:How is it being Miss Wyoming USA 2012?

Holly:It is a blast! I am the kind of person who always looks for new things to try or fun things to participate in, so this is the perfect role for me. As Miss Wyoming USA, I am always doing something different and I get the opportunity to meet so many great people. This is definitely a role that I was made for!

UBC:What is your advocacy as Miss Wyoming USA?

Holly:I want kids to get outside and get active! I was always very involved in school and in the outdoors growing up, and that played a huge role in shaping who I am now. My family’s guest ranch offers a youth horse-packing and wilderness camping trip for kids ages 9-15, and we have seen a steady decrease in attendance of the camp over the past several years. This has really been heartbreaking for me because I want to see kids enjoy the same kinds of exploration and adventure that I had when I was young. It is very important to me to motivate kids to stay active and to take advantage of the beautiful outdoors.

UBC:How did you preparing for Miss USA?

Holly:I think I am trying to prepare mentally more than anything. We will be in Vegas for more than 2 weeks and I know it will be overwhelming at times. I am making sure that I am ready in every way so that I am set to go and I can enjoy myself while we’re down there. It’s sure to be the adventure of a lifetime, so I cannot wait to get it started!

UBC:How do you balance time with your family and being Miss Wyoming USA?

Holly:My mom has actually been my sidekick during my reign as Miss Wyoming USA, which has been awesome! I went to college in California, so I rarely saw my parents during that time. I think she really enjoys being able to spend a lot of time together and partake in many of the fun activities and appearances. And I have gotten to see my older sister more than usual because I’ve had appearances in the town where she lives. So even though I keep a busy and sometimes hectic schedule, it’s actually given me more time with my family!

Holly:Kaitlyn inspired me with her “don’t give up” attitude as soon as I met her. I was actually 1st runner up to her last year, and she was 1st runner up to Claire Schreiner the year before. Kaitlyn has been competing in pageants from a very young age, and this was always a dream of hers. She stuck to it and worked incredibly hard to win her title. Seeing that attitude is inspiring. And hard-work is definitely a strong quality in Wyoming women!

UBC:What strategy did you apply so that Wyoming would place this year?

Holly:This may seem lame, but the main strategy I’m going in with is to be myself. If I think too much or if I try to be something that I’m not, it will only be a hindrance. As long as I am the best Holly I can be, and I give them a good display of my character, I think that’s the best strategy to use. I am proud of myself and the accomplishments that I’ve made, so I’m going to showcase that. And I think I am pretty unique, which can be used to my advantage. I don’t think any of the other girls have spent a month backpacking and kayaking in Alaska or spent nearly every summer of their lives without electricity!

UBC:How will you treasure this experience as being Miss Wyoming?

Holly:It will be really hard for me to give my crown up next fall! The next girl may have to fight for it ;) This has been such a rewarding experience and an exciting adventure. I will always get a big grin on my face when I think back on this year!

UBC:Message to the young girls who have passion for pageants and wants to be a beauty queen?

Holly:Do it!!! Don’t think, just do. Nothing ever gets accomplished by wondering or by hoping. So trust in yourself, let go, and jump in! However your experience turns out, I can guarantee one thing. You will have so much fun and walk away from the pageant being proud of yourself and finding confidence that I bet you didn’t know you had.

UBC:Beauty Tip To All.

Holly:Don’t be afraid of your femininity. Stand tall, shoulders back, and act like there is a string pulling your whole body up from the top of your head. I’m sure you’ve heard it before, but it is SO important! Have a presence that is noticeable and commands attention. Good posture exudes confidence and will turn heads. Trust me!

UBC:Message to all your fans.

Holly:Go Wyoming! Thank you all for your wonderful support and I’m so thrilled that you are coming along with me on this journey. I’m truly blessed to be representing this big beautiful state that I call home. And Wyoming has only made the top 15 twice, so let’s push for lucky number 3 this year and get to the top!